Statespeare

Theatre Details

Venue: Roundhouse Theatre, Kelvin Grove

Season: Until 29 May 2009

Actors: Shake and Stir Theatre

Director: Nellie Lee, Ross Balbuziente, Nick Skubij

Duration: 75 minutes

Rating:

For many people, their only exposure to Shakespeare has been through their experiences at school. Most, if not all of us, have had to study the Bard as part of the English curriculum in high school and while the experience was something of a revelation for some the fact remains that for all too many Shakespeare was simply nothing more than a difficult text full of difficult and hard to fathom people and seemed to have no relevance at all.

Enter Statespeare. This short one act production seeks to shake the dust out of Shakespeare and prove, once and for all, that the old man's work is as relevant today as it was when it was written and - moreover - can actually be fun. This very cleverly devised piece has as its basic premise the story of four year twelve students who are asked, as part of their final drama performance assessment, to explore an excerpt - any excerpt - from the bard's work and explore its relevance to a contemporary audience. These for students could not be more different: there are a couple of serious theatre geeks and a couple of ultra cool kids for whom Shakespeare is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

But as these four explore excerpts from a cross section of plays including Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Hamlet and a whole host of others they discover a great deal, not only about themselves and each other, but about just how much power and meaning there still is in these works.

The supporting plot surrounding this exploration is very, very funny indeed and will no doubt appeal to adults and students alike as these four discuss everything from the school formal to relationships, sex, violence, and - of course - each other's many little personality quirks.

The cast of four including Ross Balbuziente, Nellie Lee, Francesca Savige and Nick Skubij all bring a bucket load of energy and enthusiasm to the stage and clearly know how to connect with a young audience without being at all patronizing or diminishing the power of the work. It's not hard to recognize yourself in at least one of the four main characters and it is all but impossible not to share in their excitement as they find depth and meaning in the plays they previously had only a cursory understanding of.

The play is super-fast and really plumbs some depth in the one hour plus that it takes to examine the wide variety of texts discussed. As I indicated above, it is not patronizing and is fun and informative from beginning to end. While obviously targeted at a school's audience I'm sure that the wider public will have an absolute ball with this production.

My one criticism is perhaps that the pace sometimes gets just a little too frenetic and so some of the text is lost in a gabble, but perhaps that might be nothing more than opening night nerves.

I freely admit I must have been a bit of a super-sensitive theatre geek when I was younger and it was a fabulous experience to be able to laugh at myself in retrospect and see myself as others might have. Clearly the audience on opening night, who comprised mostly of post school aged people, saw something they could connect with as well because the laughs were loud and often. This play works so well on so many levels for so many people.

If you are a teacher, a student or a parent trying to find a way to demonstrate the relevance of Shakespeare to younger audiences then this one is for you. Don't miss it.

If you have never been keen on the Bard's work but just fancy a good laugh then, whatever your age, get along to see this. It will really open your eyes and your mind.

Whoever you are, Statespeare proves once and for all that Shakespeare certainly sucketh not. Leave the rotting vegetables at home.